Their moves are in a groove SHS Chess Team learns the secrets to success
Over the last 12 years, I have been privileged to coach the Sterling High School Chess team. My name is Joel Penne and I started the chess program at Sterling when I arrived in 2009. My previous chess coaching job taught me that the first step to building a chess program was simply getting players interested in joining. We started as an after-school club and I shamelessly used food to draw players in, hoping that the game in front of them would be as tempting as the treats. The players who stayed helped Sterling Chess join the 128 other teams that were officially competing in the IHSA State Tournament that year. We finished 127th out of 128 teams. It is still unclear whether that 128th team stayed to finish the event or not. Needless to say, we had work to do. Ten years later, the same school that finished next to last was winning the 2A State title followed by a national title in the unrated division of the United States Chess Federation Tournament. This didn’t happen by chance and I feel there are “secrets” that have allowed us to reach this level of success.
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